


The Masterpiece Job

by Justanothershortstory_sofar



Series: The DeRolo Seven [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Leverage Fusion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-05-04 01:21:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14581821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justanothershortstory_sofar/pseuds/Justanothershortstory_sofar
Summary: When a seemingly simple job goes sour, the crew finds themselves in a competition with another crew over a priceless work of art.





	1. Chapter 1

Percy  
“You ready, Vex?” He looks across the elevator to Vex, popping her gum as she leans against the wall.  
“Sure am. You want to Nick and Norah this?”  
“Sounds good to me,” Percy adjusts his tie, then brushes off some dust from his jacket emblazoned with “E.P.D.”  
“Excuse me, young lady,” He and Vex flip badges at the girl behind the desk. “We’re looking for Mr. Montgraff.”  
Behind them Grog, Tempest, and Vax, move through the office floor, their Emon P.D. gear discouraging any curious cubicle workers.  
“Who are you?”  
“I’m Detective Marlowe,” Percy looks at the receptionist from over a pair of aviators, “And this is Detective Archer. We have a warrant here to search your premises.”  
“Your boss is a wanted man,” Vex slides into a ridiculously thick accent that almost makes Percy snicker. She elbows him in the ribs. 

Vax  
“Tell me, why are we running a smash and grab?” Vax mutters into his comm. “Thought we usually did things with more… style.”  
“Usually?” Grog laughs. “We’ve been a team for about three weeks. There’s no usually.”  
“Just saying, this feels like cheating.”  
“Montgraff is one of those guys who has the newest everything,” Tempest checks the map on her phone, leading the other two to a side closet. “Could you open this for me?”  
Vax begins to pull his picks, but not before Grog, with a resounding kick, smashes in the door with a foot encased in steel-toe boots.  
“Thanks. Like I was saying, his office is one big mousetrap.” Keyleth taps the wall in a few places, setting a device to the plaster. “Alright, we are set. Painting is behind the wall here.”

Vex  
“Mr. Montgraff is away on business,” the young woman at the desk takes a cautious look at the warrant.  
“Probably skipped town.” Percy turns to Vex.  
“Halfway to Wildmount by now.” Vex shakes her head.  
“No, he’s returning this Friday,” the poor receptionist looks terribly confused. “You must be mistaken.”  
“Yeah, well he’s not coming back, and you’d best be hoping he doesn’t.”  
“You’re just his type.” Vex tuts.  
“His type?” The receptionist’s eyes go wide. “What do you mean, his type?”

 

Keyleth  
“Why aren’t we trying, at least?” Vax grumbles as he helps Grog set up the heavy L shaped brackets onto the wall.  
“The man has a PDX 5000 Rotating Encryption System.” Keyleth looks up from her tablet. “Rotating. Are you insane?”  
“English please Tempest.” Vax grunts.  
“Okay,” Keyleth finishes her scan of the wall. “It’s like… really hard. I don’t know. Maybe another crew would be dumb enough to try, but even then, they’d only get three minutes of access before the system shuts them out. Not to mention the pressure-sensitive floors and separate security system in the office itself.”  
“Still think we should try,” Vax sighs.  
“It’s fine,” Grog starts to cut through the plaster of the wall. “This is more fun.”  
“Not to mention fast.” Keyleth checks the scans. “Now the Klimt is ours.”  
As Grog pulls the painting back from the wall, Vax starts to laugh a little.  
“I don’t think that’s quite what we’re looking for.”

Percy  
“Did he ever express an interest in the color of your toenail polish?” Vex crosses her arms over the desk. “Did he ever mention he had a wood chipper?”  
“Did he ever ask if you would come to his home to see his… wood chipper?” Percy raises an eyebrow. The receptionist shakes her head wildly.  
“Percy, we have a problem.” Keyleth comes through on coms. “Meet you at the back exit.” 

Vex  
“Let me get this straight.” Percy sighs. “We have a straightforward second job lined up, a nice elderly couple trying to reclaim a stolen painting. And somehow, we picked up something entirely different?”  
“Montgraff moved the painting.” Keyleth steps into the elevator. “Or something like that- I looked all around the office, and there was no sign of it.”  
“Dogs playing poker?” She shakes her head, letting her dark brown hair loose from her ponytail. “Really?”

Walking down the same hallway, a man wearing a purple blazer catches just a glimpse of a face- Vex, walking into the elevator.  
“Vex?” He asks himself, but the doors are closed.  
“Painting’s ours.” Another voice comes through comms. “You got an exit?”  
“The Meat Man always has an exit,” He smiles. “Coming around to you now.”


	2. Chapter 2

Keyleth  
“I just got off the phone with our clients and explained to them why we couldn’t give them back their art.” Percy sits down at the table with a huff. “Now I’m curious as to why. Does anyone have an answer? Where’s Vex? She normally has the answer to this sort of thing.”  
“Another crew, maybe?” Keyleth plays with the sugar packets on the table. “They outsmarted us, nabbed the Klimt before we even got close.”  
“I’ll get her on comms.” Vax fiddles with the earbud. “Hey, Stubby. Percy was wondering where… I’d say that’s a pretty good reason to not be here. Don’t move, we’re coming.”  
“What?” Keyleth looks up.   
“She says she’s holding a bomb.”

Pike  
“That’s definitely an explosive.” Pike peers into the vase of flowers, where a parcel of C4 surrounded by a flurry of wires is nestled in between two dozen white roses.   
“That’s useful information,” Vax snarks. “Know anything that’ll turn it off?”  
“The circuit is motion triggered,” Pike looks over to Vax. “Putting my hand inside to disarm it is going to set it off. And I know you’re stressed, but I’d greatly appreciate little to no sarcasm while I save your sister’s life.”  
“Let’s not argue,” Vex’s fingers feel sweaty around the vase. “Not while I’m holding a motion-sensitive bomb.”   
“Do you have any instant pudding?” Keyleth pipes up from the back.   
“I don’t think now’s the time for snacks,” Percy begins to say.   
“The powder hardens the liquid. Could keep it in place.”   
“That… that could work.” Percy runs through everything he knows on explosives.   
“Well, pudding is in the bottom left cabinet,” Vex says. “Vax, could you? You know where everything is.”  
Vax rummages for a second, then returns with a packet of instant chocolate pudding. He tears it open, then gingerly begins to add it to the vase.   
“This should give you some wiggle room,” Percy makes eye contact with Vex. “Very little.”  
“What’s the plan?” Vex feels the vase begin to almost slip between her slick fingers.   
“How fast can you run?” Pike gestures for the rest of the team to leave. “Don’t throw it, it will hit the bottom and detonate. Just lift it as high as you can and run. Should get you enough time to get out of the blast zone.”  
“You can’t be serious.” Vax shakes his head. “You’ve got to have a better plan than that, Pike.”  
“I think that’s perfectly reasonable, Vax,” Vex smiles shakily. “Drop it and run.”  
“Pike, come up with something better. Please.”  
“Damn it Vax,” She grabs him by the shirt collar, and although she’s much shorter than him, she intimidates him, pulling him in closer. “I happen to know this thing is motion triggered. I don’t, however, know if it’s also time-based. We don’t have a minute for me to come up with something better.”  
“Take him with you, Pike.” Vex looks at Vax from the corner of her eye. “I want you far from the blast, brother.”  
“Like hell, I will…” Pike grabs him by the ear and drags him off, Vax’s small shouts of pain growing fainter as Pike leaves the room.   
“I’m staying with you,” Percy surprises Vex.  
“Forgot you were here.” Vex looks over to Percy, who looks… Worried? For the first time since she met him three months ago, Percy has fear in his eyes. “I’ll be fine. But you should go.”  
“No, I’ll stay.” Percy shakes his head. “You’re part of my team. It’s my job to make sure you’re alright.”  
“Percy.” Vex bites her inner lip to keep herself together because holy shit she was holding a bomb Pike just said could go off at any time. “You know me. I’m a very hard person to kill. I’ll be fine. You, however. Not so much.”  
“You’d be surprised,” Percy doesn’t leave.   
“Darling, you should go.”  
“Do it just like we said.” Percy’s hand lightly grazes her back as he goes to the next room in her apartment. “Don’t throw it, just drop it and run.”  
Vex looks back, making sure everyone is clear. Holding her breath, she says a quick prayer, then lifts the vase above her head, standing as tall as she can for another second, then lets the vase slip through her fingers, as she sprints with all her might toward Percy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, things sure are getting... explosive... Get it? Ah? Explosive!? 
> 
> I'll see myself out now. 
> 
> Hit that kudos button if you still like this despite my dad joke and comment a better one if you hated mine. Thanks for reading! (And I do hope I haven't scared you off with my dad jokes please still read my writing.)


	3. Chapter 3

Grog  
“She had a way of takin’ care of people, you know?” Grog coughs nervously. None of this was helped by the coffin to his left, where Vex currently was. “It’s so weird, I was just talking to her, and now she’s just… dead?”  
“Pike, do something,” Percy whispers from the back of the crowd.   
“On it,” She slides past the few people there and taps Grog on one meaty shoulder. “I think what he means is that Katherine was like family. Which is what makes losing her so hard.”  
Grog nods and Pike leads him back into the crowd. 

Percy  
His team has done a good job keeping it together. Pike and Tempest pulled together a funeral quickly under Vex’s alias Katherine Hapstall. Vax refused to come, instead, he was hanging back at their loft and makeshift headquarters.   
“Your turn,” Pike whispered. “Let’s finish this off.”  
With a last loving tap, Percy closed the casket and began to bring it over to the gaping hole in the ground.   
“This is hardly fair,” Vex practically materializes beside him. “Buried in a pauper’s grave, hardly any mourners.”  
“What are you doing?” He hisses, walking with her to the back. “You’re supposed to be dead.”  
Vex smiles, her black veiled hat concealing her eyes.   
“What was it you said? Should you try and kill me, you’d want to see and make sure I was dead? I’ve got to see if I recognize anyone.”  
“A shame.” Someone approaches Percy as he gestures for Vex to go. “Someone so young... you knew her well?”  
“Yeah, pretty well. Yourself?”  
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he responds. The man is shorter than Percy, not even coming to his shoulder, but despite his small stature, Percy feels uneasy around him. He brushes a nonexistent bit of lint from an immaculate dark plum colored jacket. “I knew her, but not as Katherine. She went by a different name when I knew her. Actresses. Perhaps we should take this to heart. Mistakes can get you killed.”  
“It was an accident. The gas line broke.” Percy crosses his arms.   
“Sure it was.” The man in purple is already walking away.   
“He an old friend of yours?” Percy takes Vex’s arm, walking back to Pike’s black sedan.   
“If by friend you mean murderous, backstabbing liar, then yes.” Vex huffs. 

Keyleth  
“Alright Vex,” She opens up her laptop. “Give me a name.”  
“Scanlan Shorthalt,” Vex removes her hat, placing it on the coffee table in their little loft apartment. “Brilliant grifter, even better forger. We had a few good runs about five years ago.”  
“Vax, did you run with Shorthalt?” Percy looks at the photos Keyleth pulls up.   
“No, that was just Stubby,” Vax says, tucking his legs up on the green sofa. “I was doing mostly second-story work. She tried to get me in for a while, but I had other contacts.”  
“So it looks like Shorthalt wanted you dead, and he has the Klimt. Why?” Percy paces the apartment.   
“Okay, everything I know about Shorthalt.” Vex sprawls onto the sofa next to Vax, listing everything she can think of. “He doesn’t keep a permanent crew, he uses Whiz Mobs. They’ll normally do one high profile job before…”  
“Our client’s painting,” Percy replies.   
“So what’s the big job?” Vex rubs her eyes. “Shorthalt tried to kill me because… because I know his scams. Because I know his favorite scam. The Mona Lisa variant. Tempest, pull up all the auctions happening in Emon.”  
“Auctions? Not museums?” Percy asks.   
“Shorthalt likes auctions, it helps him feel out buyers. That was actually my bit, I came up with that. Brilliant, right?” Vex hops over to Keyleth, shaking her head at the different paintings. “Scams like this need higher value paintings, five million or more. He does his own forgeries, mostly impressionists. There. Put that up on the TV?”  
Keyleth puts up the large photo of the painting.   
“Van Gogh,” Vax whistles. “Cafe at a Moonlit Terrace.”   
“Okay, so we call the cops.” Pike brings a bag of chips from the kitchen. “Tell him he planted the bomb and he plans to steal the painting.”  
“But then we have no way of getting that painting back,” Vax shakes his foot, leaning into Vex.   
“Christ, Vax.” Pike plunks down on his other side. “We have law enforcement on our side. Once it’s in police custody we can just get Kima to get it to us.”  
“No, we can’t call Kima, not yet anyway.” Percy muses. “The only way to get the painting back is to have something to trade. That painting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry (not sorry) for that little fake out at the end. This fic is going really fast, hence the more frequent updates!
> 
> Please hit that Kudos button at the bottom if you liked this and want to see more of this series and do comment other Leverage episodes you'd like to see written! I'm so surprised this got as many likes as it has! Thanks, everyone!


	4. Chapter 4

Vax  
The auction house was a thief’s dream to case. Works of art lining the walls, all with minimal framing. A few larger sculptures sat on pedestals on the open floor, where people wandered around, looking at the art almost none of them would be able to afford.   
On the other hand, the place was a mess to steal from. Cameras, motion sensors, and lasers were all set up to go off at a moments notice. Good thing he wasn’t running this alone. Vax fiddled with the cuffs on the waitstaff shirt; he had nabbed one just a little too big.   
“Once you get the director’s wallet and ID card, we’re golden,” Tempest says into his ear.   
Vax strolls past the director, pausing for a moment to offer him champagne. His fingers deftly plucked the fat wallet from his inner jacket pocket and slid it into his pant pocket. The whole exchange happened in a matter of seconds.   
“Got the wallet,” Vax stumbles as a red-haired woman bumps into him.   
He pats his pocket- the wallet’s gone, and the young woman is now slipping past the director, tripping again. She looks almost drunk, but Vax watches her hand slip into the directors pocket, unhooking the ID card.   
“Damn it.” Vax makes eye contact with her. With a determined pace, Vax walks toward her, pulling the wallet back from her. He smirks, turning to look at the other thief.   
She simply holds up his phone.   
“She has my phone.”

Keyleth  
“Vax, keep your eye on the target.”  
She switches views on the security cameras, keeping Vax in sight.   
“Now I see you,” She nabs a still frame of the other thief. “Let’s see who you are.”  
“So this is what you do? Keep an eye on us?”  
Vex takes a sip of her tea.   
“I monitor comms, keep the tech updated, Percy and I build your gadgets, monitor for police frequencies…” Keyleth turns to Vex. “You has no idea I did this, did you? What is that smell?”  
“It’s raspberry tea,” Vex stirs it. “I have to say, darling, it’s a little whiffy in here.”  
“It smells like hard work, that’s what it smells like.” Keyleth returns to her programs. “Whiffy, I don’t know what…”  
Keyleth is interrupted by a crackle over comms.   
“There’s a blind spot in the cameras….” an unfamiliar voice comes in and out of comms.   
“Who was that?” Vex adjusts the comm in her ear.   
“Helloo?” Keyleth says into a mic she starts plugging into her laptop. “Hey, can anyone hear me?”  
“Who is this?” The other voice crackles in.   
“Yeah, you’re bumping into my baby monitor frequency,” Keyleth presses enter on her laptop, letting loose a worm she keeps just in case. “So what I’m going to need you to do, cause my kid needs to take a nap, is turn yours off, Kay? Thanks.”  
“Your baby is incredibly smart,” the other voice responds. “Seeing as they just launched a multi-virus attack on my baby monitor’s firewall. You guys! We have a visiting team!”  
Keyleth’s laptop screen starts flashing red, with a large, almost cartoonish middle finger waving in the center.   
“Fuck this,” She begins to frantically type until the error screen dismisses. “I know this style. This is Chaos. He’s got to be somewhere close. Percy, they’re here. They’re here.”  
Keyleth picks up her Bluetooth keyboard and slams the van door open. From across the lot, a young man with a scruffy brown beard and a graphic tee shirt jumps from his unmarked van, laptop in hand.   
“Chaos,” she calls out. “I thought you were in jail. Guess I was wrong.”  
“Tempest.” Chaos grins. “I heard you sucked. Guess I was right.”  
Keyleth begins typing one handed as Chaos goes for his laptop. Her van’s lights start flickering as car alarms from both vans begin to blare. 

Pike  
“What do you mean, they’re here?” She turns a corner. Pike keeps a wary eye on Percy, standing idly in front of the Van Gogh. “Oh.”  
A man turns the corner, a good deal taller and wider than her. His arm, completely covered in scars, is up by his ear, saying something she can’t quite hear.   
Her brain goes through all the different outcomes for a fight- jumping directly to her favorite judo-style takedown and ground pound.   
“I got this,” She says to herself. 

Percy  
“Tempest, what do you mean?” Percy holds his hands behind his back. “Who’s—”  
“Percival De Rolo,” Shorthalt offers him a flute of champagne. “I apologize for not recognizing you earlier, I was... overwhelmed by grief.”  
“Scanlan Shorthalt.” Percy takes the champagne. “If you really knew me, you’d know better than to mess with my team and my city.”  
“Emon is hardly your city,” Shorthalt takes a sip. “But hey. Sure, you can call her yours. Just let me take her out for one night of cheap fun, I’ll give her back to you in the morning. No need for any messing with your team.”   
“Not going to happen, Shorthalt.” Percy’s grip tightens on the stem of the crystal champagne flute. “You already fucked with me.”  
“I would never,” Shorthalt almost looks offended. “You haven’t been around long, but with that Orthax job you pulled…”  
“Folks, the auction house is going to be closing early today,” the director says to the crowd. “Thanks for coming by, and we hope to see you at our auction tomorrow morning.”  
“Your people blew it, De Rolo,” Shorthalt mutters.   
“My people don’t make mistakes,” Percy sets down his drink.   
“Did Vex make a mistake?”  
Percy’s arm begins to move if it’s own volition in the general direction of Shorthalt’s face, hopefully, the nose, before another hand pulls it back.   
“Now is not the time, Percy,” Pike says. “Save it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while, I was hit with the sick during exam week so I don't know what my results will be (should be fun), but now I'm back with more fic material than ever! Now fully introducing Scanlan Shorthalt to the team...
> 
> *sound of fistfight begins in background*
> 
> ooh, I don't think they're getting along very well.
> 
> *fistfight continues* *sound of flute trills*
> 
> Okay, then. Hit that kudos button or leave a comment if you liked this chapter! 
> 
> *sound of a flute being broken*
> 
> I really appreciate it. Thanks, everyone!
> 
> *gunshots*


	5. Chapter 5

Vex  
It’s maybe been three days since her ‘death’, and only a few hours since coming back from the auction house, but the apartment already has Vex feeling claustrophobic. Even with the things she was able to salvage from the explosion, the apartment still feels like Percy’s lonely sad boy house. She sprawls over the dark blue sofa, exhausted. Vax hasn’t left her side, his head now rests on her shoulder. 

The rest of the apartment isn’t much bigger; small kitchen coming off of the studio-style living space, single bathroom with the tiniest shower she’s ever seen, and what was once a bedroom. Vex asked Percy about it; now it served as his laboratory, with his bed pushed into a corner of the living room. The whole place was painted eggshell, which only enhanced the seclusion she felt. 

Percy walks across the living room, pacing back and forth. Keyleth absentmindedly flips through security footage, Pike bites her fingernails, and even Grog seems uneasy. 

“Who the hell does this guy think he is?” Percy explodes. “I mean, really.”

“Scanlan Shorthalt,” Vax mutters into Vex’s arm. “That’s who.”

“How are we doing this, Percy?” Pike asks. “The painting goes up for auction tomorrow.”

“Which means they’re hitting it tonight. We can beat them to it. Keyleth, run it.”

“Shorthalt has a four-man crew. Thief, Hacker, Hitter, Grifter.” Percy’s TV flickers to life as Keyleth summons a series of images. 

“We need an office, by the way,” Vex interrupts. “It’s getting a little old, meeting in Percival’s sad boy house.”

“I second that motion, Don’t ask me how I got this dinosaur to work, I don’t even know.” Keyleth gestures to the screen, where an image of a red-haired woman making a phone call flickers, “Zahra Hydris, thief.”

“I ran into her at the gallery,” Vax turns to look at the television. “She’s good. Not as good as me, but good nonetheless.”

“Sure thing, brother.” Vex snickers. 

“Kashaw Vesh, a former spy for Vasselheim,” Keyleth clicks to the next photo. “Pike, you saw him.”

“Yeah. He’s brutal,” Pike crosses her arms. 

“Absolutely fuckin terrifying.” Grog chimes in.

“You were scared to fight someone?” Vax cocks an eyebrow. “I didn’t think you got that.”

“He killed a guy with a broom, Vax,” Pike replies. “It’s actually kinda funny, he took the broom and broke it and…”

“Okay!” Keyleth interrupts. “He’s nasty. Last member. This here is Torbir, he mostly goes by his handle Chaos.” Her voice is filled with contempt. “Hacked into most every world government, most companies. Acts like he's hot shit, even though he's been caught- twice, I might add. Wanna know how often I've been caught?"

"Tempest," Percy interrupts Tempest's diatribe. 

Anyways," She moves on, "I asked Vysoren, Cloudtop’s had many problems kicking him off their servers.”

“I remember, I had a few encounters with him myself…” Percy looks up. “Never mind. We know them, their weaknesses, their MOs.”

“I’m noting a distinct lack of weaknesses, Percy.” Vax shakes his head. "I don't know about this one."

“So, we go in and get the painting tonight,” Pike redirects the conversation. “Not a lot of time to plan. Vax are you ready?” 

“As much as one can be for this job.” Vax shakes his foot, and Vex can tell how anxious he is. 

“We got this.” Percy stands and stretches. “We’ll do a standard snatch and grab. Tempest, you’re on the hack, Vax is in the vents, Pike and Grog on interference, I’m on distract. Vex, you’re on the wheel. We leave in an hour.”

 

Vax  
Vax always has too much energy, hands that fidgeted way more than his father wanted them to. He normally focused this excess on locks, breaking them, fixing them, making new ones. But now, with no locks to fix, he’s taken on nervous eating. A perfectly healthy habit, he supposes. 

“Vex, please, just give me an answer.” Vex hasn’t looked at him in forever, now she leans over the sink, getting a glass of water. “Tell me.”

“What do you want to hear?” She asks, muttering into the glass. “That we’re here for a higher purpose? For some bullshit like ‘I suddenly developed a moral compass’?”

“I’ll tell you what I don’t want to hear,” Vax replies tersely. “I don’t want to hear it’s because you want to fuck Percival and haven’t done so yet. I don’t want to hear it’s because you’re in love with him. Vex, we don’t know these people! You don’t owe them anything! Why are we still here?”

“I don’t know, Vax!” Vex raises her voice in kind. “Have you considered the fact that I’m not a mastermind? I just lie, and I don’t know, but it feels nice to make a fucking change in the world for once!”

“Why this team?” Vax presses. “We don’t even know Tempest’s name, we don’t know shit about Percy or Pike or Grog! YOU ALMOST DIED, VEX! And for what? For this fucking team?”

“I KNOW, VAX,” she shouts. “I WAS THE ONE HOLDING THE FUCKING BOMB. Trust me, I know. Tell me when you come up with a better plan or a reason to leave.”

Vex, cheeks flushed, storms out of the room. 

“Hi there,” Tempest coughs from the door to the kitchen. 

“Did you hear that?” Vax doesn’t turn around, just stares at the floor tiles. From behind him, Tempest opens the fridge. 

“Well, you were on comms so I heard the first bit,” she sounds flustered. “And then I took my comm out, but I also heard the loud bits- pretty sure everyone heard that part, though.”

“I’m sorry,” Vax turns to her. Indeed, she’s turned as red as her hair. “Sorry that you had to hear all that.”

“It’s fine,” she opens an energy drink. “Keyleth.”

“What was that?” Vax asks. 

“My name.” Keyleth takes a sip. “Keyleth.”

“Oh,” Vax feels his face go a little red. “You didn’t have to–”

“I did.” She tilts her head, rubbing her neck. “It’s been a while since I’ve trusted people to stay this long. So the first thing I owe you is my name. I’m Keyleth, it’s nice to meet you.”

“Thank you, Keyleth.” Vax smiles. There’s something about her, the tilt in her head, the wave of her hair, that’s incredibly endearing to him. “Thank you.”

He walks past her, pausing for a moment, before lightly kissing her forehead. “Kiki. I like it. It suits you.”

His lips feel as though they are on fire when they come away from her forehead. That was stupid, he thinks. 

Somehow, he’s found a reason to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little tension there with the twins! Finals are done, so expect way more updates. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, and be sure to hit that kudos button and comment if you enjoyed this fic! (Let me know what Leverage episode/CR battles you'd like to see next!)   
> As always, find me on the Tumblr zoetriestobecoolbutnope


	6. Chapter 6

Percy  
“Are we all in place?” Percy strolls casually past the gilded doors of the auction house.

“Cameras are on a loop,” Keyleth says through comms, “No sign of the other crew yet.”

“I don’t reckon I’ve ever driven in the front of one of these,” Vex laughs. “Should be fun.”

“I’m in position,” Vax murmurs from the roof. “Be careful, Vex.”

“We’re about to enter,” Pike presses her hand to her ear. “All clear on our end. Guards coming your way, Percy.”

“Time starts now, people,” Percy whispers. Drunkenly stumbling to the entrance, he starts to swing his umbrella against the golden doors of the auction house. “Emilyyyy! Emily, where are you?”

“Sir, what are you doing?” The guards on patrol have come over, leaving their normal route unattended. From the corner of his eye, Percy watches Grog and Pike slide in, unnoticed. 

“I’m here to see…” Fuck, he’s forgotten the name he used. “I’m here to see Emily.” Was that it? Hopefully, he can pass himself off as drunk. 

“There’s no Emily here, sir.” The guard cautiously moves Percy’s umbrella from the door. 

“What....? She moved, or something?”

 

Vax

The vents are easily big enough for him to fit through. Keyleth should have taken care of the motion sensors and cameras.

“Hey, Kiki,” He whispers, “Talk with me. What’s going on with the cameras?”

“They’re off,” Keyleth’s typing comes through the comms. “You should be in the clear, make a turn up at this next left…”

They are interrupted by an alarm ringing through the auction house. Vax freezes. 

“Keyleth, was that me?”

“No, I don’t think so…” Keyleth sounds frantic. “Hold please,”

“Great, I’ll just wait here.” Vax takes slow, calming breaths. 

“A bird.” Keyleth sounds stunned. 

“A what?” Vax digs the earbud around in case he misheard.

“A bird got in, I don’t know.” Keyleth replies. “They’ve turned the motion sensors off.”

“How did a bird get…” Vax turns a corner, nearly running right into another person in the shaft. “Oh. Uh oh.”

Zahra smiles, tucking a loose lock of red hair back into her leather cap. A birdcage sticks out of her small backpack. 

“What bird did you use?” Vax lies on his belly, looking at both of the intersections. 

“A Northern Kestrel,” Zahra takes a look as if a third thief would come bursting through the vents. “Body is small enough to avoid capture, but the wingspan is large enough to set off the motion sensors.”

“I would have gone for the Scarlet Tanager,” Vax drums his fingers on the steel shaft. “The size is a little smaller, but the bright colors are more distracting.”

“Vax, go!” Keyleth shouts. Zahra darts across the shaft, heading down to the gallery. Growling, Vax moves as quickly as he can down the other shaft. 

 

Pike

“What’s going on, Vax? Why the Uh Oh?” Pike slings her black duffel bag to the ground. “Tempest, Vax. You read me?”

“Pike, they’re here. They’re here,” Keyleth comes crackling through the comm. 

“What do you think she means, they’re here?” Grog looks down the corridor. 

From the other side of the hall, Pike locks eyes with Kashaw. 

“Uh oh.”

 

Percy

“Really not appreciating the Uh ohs, guys,” Percy murmurs into his comms. "Are they here?"

“The sensors going off earlier, that was weird.” One of the security guards turns to the other. “We should go check that out. Sleep it off, buddy.” He pats Percy’s shoulder. 

“I don’t,” Percy starts to say. 

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Another voice, silky smooth and charming comes from behind them. Scanlan Shorthalt, wearing an immaculate deep blue suit and charcoal trench coat comes over. “Everything all right?”

“Yes, he just got a little lost.” The guard nods. “We’re on our way to check the motion sensors in the main gallery, Mr. De Rolo.”

“Well, I already checked them,” Shorthalt smiles. “Everything is alright.”

Percy tries to contain his anger. "Mr. De Rolo?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let the games begin. Only a few chapters left- so comment quickly on Vox Machina adventures and/or Leverage episodes you'd like to see me write! 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading, and be sure to hit that kudos button and comment if you liked this chapter! 
> 
> As always, you can find me on the Tumblr @zoetriestobecoolbutnope


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes... I looked at the time I last updated this. Here we go, back at it again. Two chapters going up today because one is... very short.

Keyleth  
“Chaos, I’m assuming that’s you, fogging up my channel,” Keyleth says into her comm. It spews static and white noise, with the occasional squeak. She tries rerouting the coms, switching channels, but Chaos is one step ahead of her. “Come on, let’s talk. Hacker to hacker.”

“Sure thing, Kiki.” Chaos’ voice comes through the comm crystal clear. “Cute nickname.”

“I have the cameras, Chaos.” Keyleth says with a final keystroke. “Give up, why don’t you.”

“Now I have the cameras and the motion sensors.” Chaos giggles. The lights in Keyleth’s van go dark, killing her laptops. “Ah! I also have the lasers. Goodbye, Tempest.” 

 

Vax  
“Keyleth,” Vax mutters. “I really, really hope this is where I need to be.” Instead of a response, a squeal comes through comms. He ties a quick knot to the shaft, removes the metal grate, and slides down to the gallery. His landing is muffled by the thick maroon carpeting his feet sink into. 

Across the room, Zahra is disarming the alarms on the Van Gogh, hanging upside down from the vent. Vax begins to run toward her, only to stop as a laser grid springs back to life inches from his feet. Zahra locks eyes with Vax and begins to move faster, taking the frame from the wall.

“Shit.”

Grog  
Kashaw runs at them, striking wildly. He dodges under Grog’s fist and over Pike’s kick. 

One of Grog’s blows goes wild, bursting a pipe on the wall. He shakes his hand, a split knuckle dripping blood onto the floor. From the pipe comes a spray of cold water, soaking the three. 

Pike locks eyes with Grog, flicking an eyebrow up. He smiles, baring his teeth. 

“You want a broom, or are you good just going hand to hand?”

Kashaw laughs, dodging another punch and getting in a blow to Grog’s chest. Kashaw and Grog lock forearms, grappling each other and slamming each other into the walls.

“Percy,” Pike whispers. “This might not go the way we want, just letting you know. Hope you can even hear me.”

Percy  
“So tell me why they think you’re me, Shorthalt,” Percy says once the two have walked away from the doors. 

“They were wondering who I was, so I established myself as a buyer.” Scanlan strolls casually, hands behind his back. “I said I was a De Rolo, here to assess security and get them an upgrade, and they relaxed. Gave me security plans, details about the auction house. Just generally great guys.”

“I feel violated, but alright.” Percy nods. “You know I can’t let you leave with the painting.”

“I wish you luck,” Shorthalt checks his watch. “Seeing as now, I have it.”

Percy checks his own watch- half past eleven. Come on, Vex, he thinks. 

From behind the pair, tires squeak to a halt, accompanied with the howl of sirens. The pair slowly raise their hands as the car pulls up behind them. 

“You all out of tricks yet, Percival?” Shorthalt sighs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you liked this fic, be sure to hit that kudos button, leave a comment, and share with your friends. 
> 
> As always, find me on the Tumblr @zoetriestobecoolbutnope


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised, the second chapter for today.

Vex  
“You all out of tricks yet, Percival?” Shorthalt snickers. 

“Oh, I think he has one more.” Vex steps out from the police car, heels clicking on the pavement. 

“Vex?” Shorthalt turns around. “I thought you were-”

“Dead?” Vex smiles. “No.”

“You went through all of this just to set me up?” Shorthalt shakes his head. “Didn’t think you would do that, Vex.”

“Wrong again,” Percy crosses his arms. “We did all this to save you.”

Keyleth  
Half past eleven- time to go. 

“Goodbye, Chaos,” She smiles, turning the crank on her generator. “Can’t hack a classic.” Keyleth gives it a loving pat as light returns to her van. With a few more moments, comms return, and she re-opens the channel with Vax. 

Lastly, she reactivates the alarms. 

Vax  
“You’re clear to go, Vax.” Keyleth comes through comms. “Good luck.”

“Don’t need luck,” Vax dips down to the ground, beginning his series of agile jumps and dives weaving through the laser grid. From the other side, Zahra begins to try and cut the painting out faster, eyes somewhat fixated on Vax. 

He slides under the last laser, staying in a crouch then moving up slowly. Before Zahra can reel herself back up, he takes ahold of her carabiner, dropping her down to the ground. 

“Ow! What the fuck?” She looks up, trying to stand up. Vax plants a boot on her lower back.  
“Don’t move.” He rips off the black overcoat he’s been wearing, cocking a gun from the holster strapped to his chest. The alarms go off, reverberating through the room and making his head pound.

“A gun?” Zarah groans. “Thought you had more style.” 

“I said, don’t move!” Vax shouts louder. From the double doors on the other side of the gallery, a swarm of security rushes in, pointing their sidearms in all directions. As a few confused guards point their guns at him, he holds his head, defiant. 'Trust the badge, Vax', Vex’s voice echoes in his head. “Not me, her.” 

Pike  
Grog takes another shot at Kashaw, pushing him in Pike’s direction. From her back pocket, she finagles a handcuff onto Kashaw’s wrist, the other on the pipe.

“What are you doing?” Kashaw looks offended. 

“Fucking trust us, would you?” Pike pants. “We’re going to get you all out.”

Keyleth  
“Hey!” She jogs into the main lobby, smiling at the bewildered security guards. “You guys are fantastic. Absolutely amazing. They’ll write songs about this one.”

“Hey Gary,” Another guard runs up behind Vax who has the painting in one hand and Zahra in tow. “This guy says he’s a cop? When did they get,” The guard is quieted by Gary’s elbow to his ribs. 

“There you are!” Keyleth smiles as she sees Vax with the painting. “Backup’s checking the roof. You alright?”

“Great. I’m taking this in to dust for prints,” Vax walks out of the hall with a nod to the security.

“You guys are amazing,” Keyleth continues to sing their praises. 

Pike comes from the side hall with Kashaw and Grog, tucking her wet hair under a black knit cap. 

“Found this one in the vents with this rope,” She tosses the duffel bag to Keyleth. “And the climbing gear.”

“Awesome,” Keyleth slings the bag over her shoulder and adjusts the badge pinned to her chest. With a salute, she starts to walk out. “Quick thinking, what you did, setting off all the alarms like that? You guys are great. Keep a sharp eye, Gary, my man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The con thickens and comes to a conclusion! About three chapters left, which should be up within the next week or so.


	9. Chapter 9

As the parade of Shorthalt’s crew is walked to the police car Vex stole, Percy gloats. Just a little.

“How, exactly, is this saving me, Vex?” Shorthalt shakes his head. 

“Well, at first, I thought it was you that sent me that bomb,” Vex sticks her hands in her pockets. “To keep me from ruining this gig for you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Shorthalt scoffs. “You’re Vex’ahlia Vessar. You know, I wanted to recruit you for this job.”

“Happen to tell anyone else that you wanted to invite me to the party?” Vex cocks her head. 

“Yeah, my... my crew,” Shorthalt racks his brain. 

“And once Tempest got decent photos of all of them, the rest was easy.” Percy cuts in. “Chaos, your hacker, delivered that lovely present to Vex. Check your phone.”

Keyleth’s video file pops up on screen, with footage of Chaos at Vex’s apartment, explosive in hand. 

“Perfect match,” Tempest whispers into comms, looking over at Shorthalt with a grin. “Boom, baby.” She fist bumps Vax as they sit against the hood of the police car. 

“I knew she was trouble, from the second you said her name,” Chaos slams his fist against the wall of his van. 

“Now why would you want to kill Vex?” Shorthalt puts the cell phone back in his vest pocket. 

“Come on, Shorthalt.” Chaos begins to pack his van. “I had set up the PERFECT double cross, and you want to go and add another player at the last minute? Oh, and by the way, guys, that player is Vex’ahlia Vessar? There’s no way I’m going to fucking out con Vex’ahlia Vessar. And I hate to break it to you, Shorthalt, but she was the one everyone was afraid of, not you.”

“I have a feeling there’s a bomb very similar to the one Chaos sent me waiting for you in your car,” Vex stares him down. 

“Come on, Vex.” Scanlan scoffs. “I’m no amateur. I’m not going to let a keyboard monkey like that con me!”

“If we hadn’t stopped you,” Percy asks, “Just about when would you have gotten into your car?”

“Well,” Scanlan checks his watch, “Right about…”

About a block down the street, a nondescript silver car explodes, sending little bits of flying glass everywhere around the now burning car. 

“Well, fuck.” Shorthalt looks stunned. “That son of a bitch double-crossed me.”

“He’s not your problem now, I am,” Vex says. 

“What do you want?” Scanlan asks. 

“A deal.” Vex crosses her arms.

“Yes,” Percy adds. “Your people in exchange for the first painting you stole.”

“They aren’t my people,” Scanlan laughs. Ever the grifter, it’s only taken him a moment to regain his composure. 

“Your reputation will be ruined,” Percy raises an eyebrow.

“Scanlan Shorthalt gets his entire team busted,” Vex interjects. “So much for the Mastermind, no one will ever work with you again.”

“And, we do have the Van Gogh you came here for in the first place,” Percy finishes. 

“Oh. Well, I’ll trade you for that.” Scanlan laughs. “You people really run quite a nasty crew- ruthless, really. Keep in touch, Vex. I’ll be around.”

Percy exhales as Shorthalt walks away. He hadn’t realized he was holding part of his breath this whole time. Vex rests her hand on his shoulder, grinning.

“How was that, then?” Vex asks.

“Hm?” Percy turns to her.

“Our first official job,” Vex prompts. “I don’t mean to assume, but also your first crime.”

“Not my first crime,” Percy shakes his head, laughing slightly. “And I’m no grifter, Vex.”

“Come on, Percy. Admit it, you like playing the black king instead of the white knight.”

“Let’s make our getaway, Vex.” Percy opens the passenger door of the police car for her. “Before someone calls the real cops.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus ends the second job of the De Rolo Seven! If you liked this fic, please do hit that kudos button and leave a comment. Thanks for reading!  
> You can find my random Critical Role, Leverage (and right now, Sense 8, if I think about it) musings on Tumblr @zoetriestobecoolbutnope.  
> And, you know, if you want to pay me to write, consider checking out my Fiverr @cuttlefisheye. I'll write almost anything for about $5-10. 
> 
> Thanks again!

**Author's Note:**

> Back at it again with another Critical Role/Leverage fusion! 
> 
> Do please hit that kudos button or leave a comment if you enjoyed it! I really appreciate all of you (hence my continuation of the series). Let me know what Leverage Job you'd like to see rewritten next! Thanks, everyone.


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